Field System Machining recently completed bolt hole repairs to two steam turbine LP hood crossover flanges, which had damaged threaded blind holes. The blind threaded bolt holes were over-bored, threaded inserts were manufactured in our shop, the over-bored bolt holes were tapped, and the inserts were then screwed into place.
The fixture allowed the drilling machine tool to swivel 360°, making for short work of the entire job. The work was completed while standing atop scaffolding high above the turbine deck. The secret ingredient to field machining is the shop fixturing. This was definitely the case on this project – three days of manufacturing fixtures and inserts in our shop made very short work of this field machining project.
On-site threaded insert repair is just one of thousands of examples of the types of projects we handle on a regular basis. In the past 30 days alone we’ve handled three different portable machining projects requiring turbine case repair.